With increases in the use of computers to collect and store data, there has been a proliferation of databases or “data warehouses” containing large amounts of information. For example, companies that perform services that are processed in multiple stages may maintain databases of the service orders for at least the time period during which the service order is undergoing processing.
The data warehouses containing such service orders often include extensive information regarding each entry or “record” maintained in the data warehouse. Moreover, the data warehouse itself may have a complex structure. Because of this complexity and/or the volume of data, data warehouses are often created, administered and/or maintained by an information technology specialist. As such, modification and/or analysis of data warehouses may be a costly and time consuming process.
For example, with the breakup of AT&T followed by the mandate for competition for local telephone service, many telephone users now switch between different long distance, local and wireless telephone service providers. When a telephone service provider receives an order to initiate service for a new customer (e.g., a customer switching from another telephone service provider) that service order may be maintained in a data warehouse of pending service orders. Switching a customer from one telephone service provider to another may be a complex operation that is processed in a series of steps or “stages” by a plurality of different individuals or groups within the telephone service provider receiving the request for initiation of service. As the service orders are processed, the data warehouse of service orders may be updated to reflect, among other things, the current status of each of the pending orders.
Information regarding the status of the processing of pending service orders may be important to management of the telephone service provider. This information may be used, for example, to monitor the rate at which orders are being processed, identify bottlenecks in order processing and/or to optimize the allocation of corporate resources. However, the status of the service orders is constantly changing and assistance from the information technologists or other individuals that maintain the database may be necessary to assist management in extracting and analyzing the relevant information from the data warehouse. Additionally, the information stored in the data warehouse may be stored using special alphanumeric codes that may make it difficult for management to interpret and/or analyze the raw data in the data warehouse.